1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a vehicle article carrier, and more particularly to a vehicle article carrier having a pair of bracket members which each incorporate a rotatable actuating member and an internally disposed camming member for causing the bracket members to be locked and unlocked relative to a pair of slats disposed on an outer body surface of the vehicle through operation of a rotational actuating member.
2. Discussion
Vehicle article carriers are used in a wide variety of applications to secure articles above an outer body surface of a vehicle. Such vehicle article carriers often incorporate a pair of bracket members secured to opposite ends of a cross bar. The bracket members are typically mounted on a pair of slats. In some instances, the bracket members may be releasably engageable with the slats to permit the cross bar and the pair of bracket members to be repositioned along the slats as may be needed.
While many forms of locking arrangements have been developed for use with the bracket members of a vehicle article carrier, such locking arrangements have often incorporated a relatively large number of component parts. Furthermore, previously developed locking arrangements have also often proven expensive to manufacture and/or complicated to assemble. In addition, some previously developed locking arrangements have proven to be susceptible to ice and various other elements which can interfere with the operation of such locking mechanisms.
Accordingly, there is a need for a locking mechanism for a bracket member of a vehicle article carrier which is easy for an operator to place in locked and unlocked positions relative to the slats which support the bracket members. Furthermore, there is a need for a vehicle article carrier which is comprised of a limited number of component parts, and which is further easy to assemble and which allows a user to quickly and easily loosen the bracket members relative to their respective slats to permit a cross bar to be quickly and easily repositioned as needed.